How do they take your temperature?

This topic came to me as I was looking at the age regression in the sick role thread. These days, most kids' temperatures are taken with ear thermometers. However, children back in the day didn't have that option, and some people stick to an adult route even in their Little headspace. So, which route is used for you?

For me, temperature-taking is still a "bottoms up" procedure - usually using a Geratherm at home, or a digital probe at the doctor's office.

And I can't imagine them doing it if it was requested when there are far easier, less invasive methods.

This is pretty much the reason why the change has occurred. Luckily the technology has come along to allow for us to take temperatures via different methods.

However, in the medical field, the "gold standard" is still seen as taking it rectally. This is because it is probably the closest to actual core body temperature we can get (without sticking a line into your carotid artery in your neck and putting a probe down it that sits just in the aorta above the heart. The temperature he is definitely actual core body temperature is and reserved only for intensive care where they need to have a pretty accurate temperature in some cases.

Otherwise, people need to be careful when using other methods as there is a degree of known alteration to the temperature measured and the actual core body temperature. For example, tympanic measuring (the one that goes in the ear) is believe to be 1-2 degrees higher (warmer) then core body temperature. Oral temperatures are believed to be 1-2 degrees lower (colder) then core body temperature. Axilla temperatures (under the armpit) if i remember correctly is believed to be 1-2 degrees higher (warmer) then core body temperature. Im not sure what the difference in temperature is with the forehead/infared thermometers are. But if i had to guess it would probably be similar to tympanic and be slightly higher (warmer) then core body temperature.

Mostly, it is only 1-2 degrees difference so it isn't a huge deal in the majority of cases as we don't tend to need to know the perfect temperature. However, in some hospitals (at least he in Australia) there are some paediatric wards that do continue to take rectal temperatures of newborns and infants (i think up to about the age of 1). Then they look at changing to other means. But that isn't the case with all hospitals as some definitely have moved over to the newer means of taking temperatures and accounting for this difference in temperatures.

As i mentioned earlier there are some cases where they might need to keep a close eye on the core body temperature (things like hypothermia/hyperthermia and some infections, among a few other things) and in those situations the people are usually in ICU (intensive care unit) and have a load of other monitoring. In those instances to get the perfect temperature (and a continuous monitoring) they put the probe into the carotid and the aorta and leave it to measure the temperature.

When I was a little kid, my mom always used a rectal thermometer. To make matters worse, if I was constipated, she would use an enema. There was more stuff going in and out of my ass than in Cartman from an early South Park when the aliens put a giant probe up his butt.

When I was a little kid, my mom always used a rectal thermometer. To make matters worse, if I was constipated, she would use an enema. There was more stuff going in and out of my ass than in Cartman from an early South Park when the aliens put a giant probe up his butt.

I also recall the rather unpleasant experience of my mother giving me an enema a time or two when I was small. I also remember once taking the Sennokot laxative, which had me up in the middle of the night in pain on the toilet.